I Am Not Chloe Silverado
by Unlampliking
Summary: AU where a secret agency suspects Mindy of something she didn't do. She and Danny are forced to hide, meeting eccentric people and being put in strange circumstances on the way to clearing her name.
1. Already Alarmed

**A/N: First fic in months! This will be a multi-chapter one.**

* * *

"You are so nice, Danny," said Mindy in the least sarcastic way she could muster.

Danny smirked at her as they walked out of the building. She had told him that just getting a taxi would be fine with her, but he insisted that he could drive her home.

"Quit acting like it's such a big deal. I'm just driving you," he put an arm on her waist gently as they crossed the street.

"Okay, then thanks, I guess. Whatever. I don't even care."

"Great. That's right."

She nodded self-approvingly. "I'm always right, you should-"

Two men in tuxedos stepped in front of them.

"You're going to have to come with us," one said firmly. Mindy glanced at Danny. He shrugged.

"Um, you want to tell us why?" she asked.

"I think you know, Miss Silverado."

She scoffed. "Did Peter tell you to do this?"

"What are you two doing wearing tuxedos?" Seeing the look on Mindy's face, Danny added, "What? It's a genuine question."

The other man suddenly grabbed Mindy's arm, attempting to force her away.

"Whoa, okay. Cut it out," ordered Danny.

Just then, the sound of a car hastily stopping caused a look of confusion on the men's faces. The window of the car rolled down, and the driver unexpectedly shouted.

"Get the hell in!" an Irish accent called. The driver was a middle-aged man wearing a T-shirt and sporting an expression between anger and concern.

"We're not gonna get in a car with some guy we don't even know," Danny retorted.

The man gripping Mindy's arm seemed satisfied with this. "He's absolutely right."

The driver rolled his eyes and, to their surprise, stepped out of the car. The passengers of the few cars waiting behind him shouted their annoyed opinions.

"Seriously, do you want to get beat up?" His irritated expression changed to something darker as the men chuckled. "I'm not talking some high school fight. I'm asking you if you really want to get hit so hard that you wake up in the hospital in a week forgetting you were ever here. You don't know who I work for. And honestly, I don't think you _want_ to know. 'Cause if you found out...well, you'd forget more than this night."

The men stared back in silence. Danny's mouth was open in shock. Mindy was still gazing in confusion.

"So what I'm saying is," the driver took a step forward. "Give them to me. Or else."

"Or else? Or else what?"

A gun appeared in the driver's hand from behind his coat. He pointed it at the man who was now only tenderly holding Mindy's arm. She heard someone in a waiting car say to call the police.

"Or else."

Mindy's arm was then free, but only for a moment. The driver pulled her toward the car as Danny watched hesitantly.

"Jesus, _come on_, for Christ's sake!"

Danny murmured something to himself and hastily opened the backseat door of the sleek black car. The driver nodded approvingly, then looking at Mindy as he pushed her into the passenger seat and ran to the driver's side. Cars behind him were honking and yelling at him, making sure he knew that he wasn't getting away with kidnapping these innocent people. The car made an unpleasant noise as they quickly made their escape.

Danny leaned toward the man, swerving to the right as the car tried escaping any followers. "What the hell is going on?"

"How should I know?"

"Um, _what_?" Mindy looked at the driver wide-eyed. "Then why are we with you?"

"Seemed like a better damn idea than being with them, didn't it?"

"Well-_ow_-" Mindy's head hit the window as they promptly turned to the right. "We wouldn't have gotten in your car if we knew that you were _joking_."

The man eyed her. "I wasn't joking. I know who those men are, I just don't know why they want you."

"Who are you?" asked Danny.

"Oliver."

"Yeah, okay, I mean what do you do?"

"I'm..." Oliver sighed and gripped the steering wheel, taking the nearest exit. "Well-shit-I'm...the manager of Applebee's."

Mindy drew her eyebrows together in disbelief. "You're kidding."

"I'm not."

"You have a _gun_. You made that weird speech!"

"Fuckin' lucky." Oliver glanced at her, then picked up the gun from the floor and tossed it to her. "Fake."

"Fake? Are you kidding me?" Danny leaned forward again to take the gun. Upon examining it, he exclaimed, "This is a water gun!"

Oliver smirked. "You should be a detective." He looked at Mindy, grinning, and frowned when he saw her look of disdain. He turned back to facing forward. They were now on a dark, rugged road. Mindy had never even seen this place before.

"Will you please at least explain what you _do_ know?" she asked.

Oliver nodded. "I used to work for the CIA," he pursed his lips and looked up before continuing. "That's a lie. But I _have_ seen them before. I mean, not those exact men before, but men like them...I may or may not have once accidentally been involved in a bank robbery?"

Mindy and Danny spoke simultaneously.

"What does that have to do with anything?" cried Mindy.

"What the hell?" said Danny.

Oliver held a hand up. "Calm down. God, you two. Look. I was in a relationship with this woman-"

Danny groaned.

"Shut up! I didn't know that she was...problematic. I bought her some strange things, answered her 'what-if' questions. Next thing you know, my girlfriend has just taken a hundred thousand from some bank in California and these men in tuxedos are following me, accusing me of being an accomplice to a crime."

"They think I committed a crime?" Mindy sighed. "Do they seriously not know that the Chloe Silverado thing was a joke?"

Oliver narrowed his eyes at the road. "Who are you two really, then?"

"How do we know we can trust you?" Danny crossed his arms.

"How the hell do you think? I just saved your damn lives. Get over yourself."

Mindy couldn't help but laugh.

"This is funny?" Danny knew he was whining, but he had no idea what was going on, much less who this Oliver guy was.

Oliver pulled the car into the driveway of a strange, small motel with broken lights on the sign. Like a horror movie.

"This is my friend's place. Doesn't really get many customers, which is probably good, since it's not an actual motel."

They got out of the car and walked toward the doors.

"Don't be alarmed," Oliver said.

Danny and Mindy looked at each other, already alarmed. Mindy's hand found its way to his, intertwining their fingers. Danny looked from their hands to her frightened face as Oliver opened the door.


	2. Still Scared

**A/N: Yeah... already a new chapter. The first few will be kind of short.**

* * *

There were two water coolers. One contained lemonade. The other had beer.

Oliver poured beer into Mindy's cup. She took it from him gladly, sipping it like water. Danny had already drank his exceptionally quickly. They sat on the couch opposite Wesley, the motel's owner. He leaned against the wall and watched them. Mindy still held Danny's hand with the one that wasn't grasping her cup.

"Sorry, I'm not totally sure I understand," Wesley said flatly. "You want me to house a couple of convicts? From _them_?"

"Only the girl's a convict! And not even a real one. Probably." Oliver glanced at Mindy.

"I'm not!" Mindy said indignantly. She looked at the motel owner hopefully. "We don't know who those guys are, I don't know what they think I did, and they...might not find us here, so can we please just go to sleep?"

Wesley stared at her until she almost thought he didn't hear her. Then he turned around and sifted through a cupboard, coming back with a silver key. He took a deep breath, holding the key in his hand. He gestured to Oliver.

"He told you about this place, right?"

"I mentioned it," Oliver said.

"Yeah, but did you actually _tell_ them?"

Danny shook his head at Wesley, watching the conversation questioningly.

Wesley frowned. "Come with me." He walked to the only other door in the dim room, standing before it, making it feel as foreboding as possible. Then he opened the door.

There was a short silence until Mindy spoke.

"I don't get it."

That was when Wesley and Oliver exploded in laughter.

"Every time!" said Oliver between cackles.

"So this whole thing was a joke?" Danny's voice was a mix of annoyance and relief.

"Oh, no, that part was real," Wesley replied.

Danny and Mindy looked at the small hallway they stood in. There were four doors; two on each side. It was just a regular, tiny motel.

Oliver's laughter faded away as he looked at them, but he smiled kindly.

"What are your names? You never told me."

They told him.

"Well. Danny, you take that one," Oliver gestured to number two. "Mindy, you take four."

Mindy went to her room, Danny to his. They had no possessions with them besides their cell phones, which Wesley and Oliver had taken upon entering the motel. Mindy went in and sat on her bed. Oliver followed, lingering by the door.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you. But you'll be fine, I'm sure."

She really wished she had her wine bra here. She nodded in response. He nodded back and left the room. It took only a few moments for Mindy to hear them close the hallway door. Then she got up and opened her door, walking to the one across from it. Two. She knocked. There was no way she could sleep by herself tonight, embarrassing or not.

Danny opened the door. He saw in her defeated expression that she didn't intend to go back to the other room. Okay, then.

He let her in, but said, "Look, Min...there's only one bed. You take it, I'll sleep on the floor."

She smiled gratefully and sat on the bed. He sat next to her.

"What's up? You haven't said much," he said quietly.

"What's _up_, Danny? Some weird people think my name is actually Chloe Silverado, and some also weird people are making us stay in this really boring motel. There's no pool here. There isn't even cable TV."

Danny laid down and she followed suit. He looked at her.

"It's not so bad. We've got a whole 100 square feet here."

Mindy smiled slightly. "You know, it is actually pretty cool. Someone named Chloe Silverado committed a crime and I'm on the run from, like, evil tuxedo men. Danny," she turned to him. "This is so cool."

He grinned. "I think you need to get some sleep." He stood up and took a pillow.

"I'm still scared, though," Mindy whined.

Danny hesitated. "What do you want me to do?"

She bit her lip and sat up, gathering the blankets so she could get under them. She briefly contemplated taking her uncomfortable jeans off, but obviously that was not an option if she was going to do what she was about to do.

"I don't want you to sleep on the floor."

He looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it.

"Okay." He lifted the blankets and climbed under them, sitting there. Under normal circumstances, he would try not to be this close to her. Not like this. But even though he knew this could be taking advantage of her, she just wanted him there. That was it.

That was it, right?

They looked at each other for a moment, then Mindy asked him to turn the light off. He complied, switching off the lamp on the end table next to them. Mindy sank until her head was on the pillow. Danny sat for a second longer before deciding it was okay. They laid next to each other. There was over a foot between them. Images of the two strange men and what the ensuing days could involve flashed in her mind, and she was suddenly only inches away.

Danny was incredibly aware of every movement she made. He closed his eyes and thought about earlier, when she'd held his hand. Was this the only kind of situation in which she would want that?

Mindy hoped she wasn't being intrusive. She tentatively rested her head near his shoulder. Danny stiffened. She moved away, thinking this was probably not okay. But Danny put an arm around her, and she decided to let her head lie where his heart was.

And Danny thought maybe it didn't matter so much. It was happening now.

* * *

The light was blinding.

"Alright." Oliver was pulling on a jacket. "We ought to get going."

Mindy kept her eyes tightly shut. She had moved back to her own side of the bed at some point. Danny blinked away the sleepiness, turning to face her as she pulled the covers over her face. Oliver put his hands in his jacket pockets and sighed.

"Whenever you're ready," he said sarcastically. "No rush or anything."

Danny regretfully sat up, gently shoving Mindy, attempting to move the covers away, She grumbled as she finally sat up, too. No makeup. Not even a toothbrush. Great.

Wesley appeared in the doorway.

"Ready for your incredible complimentary breakfast?" He winked.

The incredible complimentary breakfast consisted of oranges, the same lemonade from yesterday, and protein bars.

Danny and Mindy sat across from each other at a small table. Wesley was talking to Oliver about mundane things, so Mindy wasn't really listening. She was thinking about how stupid it was of her to be so close to Danny last night. What was it about the dark that made it feel okay to be that close to people?

Danny looked like he was about to say something, so Mindy quickly spoke first.

"Um, Oliver. What are we doing today?"

"We're going to the place I went when this happened to me. Where I take everyone put in this situation, actually. Las Vegas."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "You're not serious."

"I am." Oliver grinned. He looked at Wesley. "Wes'll happily come along on this adventure as well."

"Yeah, _happily_," Wesley said flatly.

Their conversation faded away as Mindy thought about what this meant. She was going to miss work. People would wonder where she was. Why did they even need to go to _Vegas_, with two people she didn't even know and another she just slept with...literally?

This was going to be good.


End file.
